Editing Cedar Grove, New Jersey (section)

==Government==
===Local government===
Cedar Grove operates within the [[Faulkner Act]], formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under [[Faulkner Act (council–manager)|Council-Manager]] plan B form of municipal government, as implemented as of July 1, 1955, based on the recommendations of a [[Charter Study Commission]].<ref>[http://www.dudley-2010.com/Faulkner%20Act%2046pages.pdf "The Faulkner Act: New Jersey's Optional Municipal Charter Law"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012040522/http://www.dudley-2010.com/Faulkner%20Act%2046pages.pdf |date=October 12, 2013 }}, [[New Jersey State League of Municipalities]], July 2007. Accessed October 8, 2013.</ref> The township is one of 42 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government.<ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/inventory_of_municipal_forms_of_government_in_new_jersey.pdf ''Inventory of Municipal Forms of Government in New Jersey''], [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies, July 1, 2011. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> Cedar Grove's governing body is comprised of a five-member Township Council, whose members are elected [[at-large]] for four-year terms by the voters of the municipality on a [[non-partisan democracy|non-partisan]] basis as part of the municipal elections held on the second Tuesday in May in odd-numbered years.<ref name=MayorCouncil/><ref name=DataBook>''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'', [[Rutgers University]] [[Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy]], March 2013, p. 169.</ref><ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/forms_of_municipal_government_in_new_jersey_9220.pdf#page=12 "Forms of Municipal Government in New Jersey"], p. 12. [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> At a reorganization meeting held each July, the council selects a mayor and a deputy mayor from among its members to serve a one-year term of office.<ref>[https://cedargrovenj.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/M-07-01-2021-Reorg.pdf Township Council Reorganization Meeting Minutes for July 1, 2021], Township of Cedar Grove. Accessed May 6, 2022. "BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Cedar Grove, Essex County, New Jersey that Peter H. Tanella be and is hereby chosen to preside at all meetings of the Township Council of the Township of Cedar Grove, and that he be and is hereby appointed the Mayor of the Township of Cedar Grove for a one-year term, effective July 1, 2021 and terminating July 1, 2022.... BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Cedar Grove, Essex County, New Jersey, that Joseph Maceri be and is hereby chosen in the absence of the Mayor of the Township of Cedar Grove to preside in his place and stead at all meetings of the Township Council of the Township of Cedar Grove, and that he is hereby designated the Deputy Mayor of the Township of Cedar Grove for a one-year term effective July 1, 2021 and terminating July 1, 2022."</ref>

{{As of|2025}}, members of the Township Council are Mayor Melissa Skabich (term on committee and as mayor ends June 30, 2025), Deputy Mayor Michele Mega (term on committee and as deputy mayor ends 2025; elected to serve an unexpired term), Joseph Maceri (2027), Kerry Peterson (2025) and John A. Zazzali (2027).<ref name=MayorCouncil>[https://cedargrovenj.org/meet-the-mayor-and-council/ Mayor and Council], Township of Cedar Grove. Accessed January 19, 2025. "Council members are elected at-large for four-year terms, by the voters of the municipality through a municipal election held the 2nd Tuesday in May, in odd number years."</ref><ref>[https://cedargrovenj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/certifiedadoptbudget_2024.pdf#page=18 2023 Municipal Data Sheet], Township of Cedar Grove. Accessed January 19, 2025.</ref><ref name=EssexDirectory>[https://essexcountynj.org/county-directory/ Essex County Directory], [[Essex County, New Jersey]]. Accessed January 19, 2025.</ref><ref name=Essex2023Municipal>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Essex/117798/web.317647/#/summary May 9, 2023 Municipal Election Unofficial Results], [[Essex County, New Jersey]] Clerk, May 18, 2023. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref><ref name=Essex2021Municipal>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Essex/109367/web.276935/#/summary Municipal Election May 11, 2021 Unofficial Results], [[Essex County, New Jersey]], updated May 11, 2021. Accessed April 19, 2022.</ref>

Michele Mega was elected to fill the council seat with a term expiring in June 2025 that had been held by Joseph Zichelli until he resigned from office to that the position as township manager.<ref name=Essex2023Municipal/><ref>[[David Wildstein|Wildstein, David]]. [https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/just-three-candidates-for-three-seats-in-cedar-grove/ "Just three candidates for three seats in Cedar Grove"], ''[[New Jersey Globe]]'', March 6, 2023. Accessed March 24, 2024. "Zazzali, the nephew of former Chief Justice James Zazzali, was appointed in February after Joseph Zichelli resigned to become township manager. He is running for a four-year term with Maceri, while Mega will seek Zichelli’s unexpired term."</ref>

In July 2020, Joseph Zichelli was sworn into office to fill the balance of the term of office expiring in June 2021 that had been held by Robbie Vargo until he resigned from office the previous month.<ref>[[David Wildstein|Wildstein, David]]. [https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/zichelli-takes-seat-as-new-cedar-grove-councilman/ "Zichelli takes seat as new Cedar Grove councilman; O’Toole swears in 23-year-old Seton Hall law student to council seat he once held"], New Jersey Globe, July 13, 2020. Accessed May 26, 2021. "Joseph Zichelli, a 23-year-old law student, was sworn in tonight as a councilman in Cedar Grove. He replaces Robbie Vargo, who resigned in June, three years into a four-year term. Zichelli was appointed by the remaining councilmembers to fill the vacancy and will run in a November special election to fill the remaining eight months of Vargo’ term."</ref> In November 2020, Zichelli was elected to serve the balance of the term through June 2021.<ref>Sym, Jonathan. [https://www.tapinto.net/towns/verona-slash-cedar-grove/articles/zichelli-wins-cedar-grove-town-council-dye-re-elected-to-cedar-grove-boe-freschi-re-elected-to-boe-in-verona "Zichelli Wins Cedar Grove Town Council, Dye Re-Elected to Cedar Grove BOE, Freschi Re-Elected to BOE in Verona"], TAP into Verona / Cedar Grove, November 3, 2020. Accessed May 26, 2021. "According to the unofficial election results provided by the Essex County Clerk’s Office, Joseph Zichelli will likely keep his seat on the Cedar Grove Council as he leads nearly two to one. Zichelli will fill the one open seat on the council. With 5,224 of the ballots counted in the council election as of 8:46 p.m., TAPinto Verona/Cedar Grove will call Zichelli the unofficial winner beating challenger Robert Dombrowski. Zichelli garnered 3,345 votes, Dombrowski took 1,879 votes."</ref>

Mayor Joseph Chiusolo resigned in June 2016 after serving 19 years in office in the wake of charges that he and his business had benefited from contracts with the township in which Chiusolo had a conflict of interest.<ref>Jongsma, Joshua. [http://www.northjersey.com/community-news/town-government/cedar-grove-mayor-resigns-1.1621629?page=all "Cedar Grove mayor resigns"], ''Verona-Cedar Grove Times'', June 24, 2016. Accessed July 5, 2016. "Cedar Grove Mayor Joseph Chiusolo resigned from his position following an investigation that stated he violated several ethics laws through a conflict of interest with his business and voting on township matters."</ref> As of July 2018, Joseph Cicala was chosen as mayor to succeed Peter Tanella, and Robbie Vargo as Deputy Mayor.<ref>Staff. [https://www.tapinto.net/towns/verona-slash-cedar-grove/sections/government/articles/cedar-grove-swears-in-new-mayor-and-deputy-mayor "Cedar Grove Swears in New Mayor and Deputy Mayor"], Tap Into Verona / Cedar Grove, July 1, 2016. Accessed October 2, 2016. "Cedar Grove has a new mayor. Deputy Mayor Peter Tanella was sworn in as mayor on Friday by former Cedar Grove Mayor Robert O'Toole.... Councilman Michael Maffucci was sworn in as Deputy Mayor by Municipal Court Judge Nicholas S. Brindisi."</ref>

In August 2015, the Township Council selected Michael Maffucci to fill the vacant seat of John Zunic expiring in December 2017, who left office to serve as a New Jersey Superior Court judge.<ref>Moroses, Dylan. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/michael-maffucci-appointed-to-vacant-cedar-grove-township-council-seat-1.1398478 "Michael Maffucci appointed to vacant Cedar Grove Township Council seat"], ''Verona-Cedar Grove Times'', August 26, 2015. Accessed September 21, 2015. "At a special meeting early Wednesday morning, the Cedar Grove Township Council temporarily appointed the runner-up in May's election, Michael Maffucci, to the vacancy made by former councilman, current New Jersey Superior Court Judge John Zunic's resignation."</ref>

In the May 2015 municipal election, incumbent Peter Tanella and challenger Harry Kumburis won election to four-year terms on the township council.<ref name=Essex2015Municipal>[http://www.essexclerk.com/Election/View/1 2015 Non-Partisan Municipal Election May 12, 2015], [[Essex County, New Jersey]] Clerk, April 18, 2016. Accessed July 4, 2016.</ref><ref>Mazzola, Jessica. [http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/05/election_results_first_female_village_prez_among_n.html "Election results: First female village prez among Essex non-partisan winners"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], May 12, 2015. Accessed June 26, 2015.</ref><ref>Ortiz, Lillian. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/update-unofficial-county-results-for-cedar-grove-election-has-tanella-kumburis-in-the-lead-1.1332309 "Update: Unofficial county results for Cedar Grove election has Tanella, Kumburis in the lead"], ''Verona-Cedar Grove Times'', May 13, 2015. Accessed June 26, 2015. "For the first time in six years, there will most likely be a new face on the Cedar Grove Township Council. According to unofficial results from the Cedar Grove municipal clerk's office, Harry Kumburis edged out Michael Maffucci by nine votes on election day, Tuesday, May 12."</ref>

===Federal, state and county representation===
Cedar Grove is located in the 11th Congressional District<ref name=PCR2012>[https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/2012-congressional-districts/njcd-2011-plan-components-county-mcd.pdf Plan Components Report], [[New Jersey Redistricting Commission]], December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020.</ref> and is part of New Jersey's 40th state legislative district.<ref name=Districts2011>[https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/2011-legislative-districts/towns-districts.pdf Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District], [[New Jersey Department of State]]. Accessed February 1, 2020.</ref><ref name=LWV2019>[https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5bae63366fd2b2e5b9f87e5e/5d30f0a94a82c66427e564d2_2019_CitizensGuide.pdf ''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''], New Jersey [[League of Women Voters]]. Accessed October 30, 2019.</ref><ref>[https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/districtnumbers.asp#40 Districts by Number for 2011-2020], [[New Jersey Legislature]]. Accessed January 6, 2013.</ref> Prior to the 2010 Census, Cedar Grove had been part of the {{ushr|NJ|8|8th Congressional District}}, a change made by the [[New Jersey Redistricting Commission]] that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.<ref name=LWV2011>[http://www.lwvnj.org/images/cg_2011.pdf#page=55 ''2011 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604153059/http://www.lwvnj.org/images/cg_2011.pdf#page=55 |date=June 4, 2013 }}, p. 55, New Jersey [[League of Women Voters]]. Accessed May 22, 2015.</ref>

{{NJ Congress 11}} {{NJ Senate}}

{{NJ Legislative 40}}

{{NJ Essex County Commissioners}}

===Politics===
As of March 2011, there were a total of 8,672 registered voters in Cedar Grove, of which 2,269 (26.2%) were registered as [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], 2,215 (25.5%) were registered as [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and 4,184 (48.2%) were registered as [[Unaffiliated (New Jersey)|Unaffiliated]]. There were 4 voters registered as [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarians]] or [[Green Party (United States)|Greens]].<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2011-essex-co-summary-report.pdf Voter Registration Summary - Essex], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed November 5, 2012.</ref>

{{PresHead|place=Cedar Grove|source=<ref>{{Cite web |title=NJ DOS - Division of Elections - Election Results Archive |url=https://nj.gov/state/elections/election-information-results.shtml |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=nj.gov}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|4,483|3,483|130|New Jersey}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|4,350|3,788|80|New Jersey}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|3,785|2,745|147|New Jersey}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|3,541|2,621|58|New Jersey}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|4,013|2,680|43|New Jersey}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|3,817|2,479|66|New Jersey}}
|}

In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2012|2012 presidential election]], Republican [[Mitt Romney]] received 56.9% of the vote (3,541 cast), ahead of Democrat [[Barack Obama]] with 42.1% (2,621 votes), and other candidates with 0.9% (58 votes), among the 6,271 ballots cast by the township's 8,965 registered voters (51 ballots were [[Spoilt vote|spoiled]]), for a turnout of 69.9%.<ref name=2012Elections>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2012-results/2012-presidential-essex.pdf |title=Presidential General Election Results - November 6, 2012 - Essex County |date=March 15, 2013 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections |access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref><ref name=2012VoterReg>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2012-results/2012-ballotscast-essex.pdf |title=Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast - November 6, 2012 - General Election Results - Essex County|date=March 15, 2013 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections |access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2008|2008 presidential election]], Republican [[John McCain]] received 59.2% of the vote (4,013 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 39.5% (2,680 votes) and other candidates with 0.6% (43 votes), among the 6,780 ballots cast by the township's 8,695 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.0%.<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2008-gen-elect-presidential-results-essex.pdf 2008 Presidential General Election Results: Essex County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 23, 2008. Accessed November 5, 2012.</ref> In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2004|2004 presidential election]], Republican [[George W. Bush]] received 59.8% of the vote (3,817 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat [[John Kerry]] with 38.9% (2,479 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (66 votes), among the 6,378 ballots cast by the township's 8,215 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 77.6.<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2004-presidential_essex_co_2004.pdf 2004 Presidential Election: Essex County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 13, 2004. Accessed November 5, 2012.</ref>

In the [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2013|2013 gubernatorial election]], Republican [[Chris Christie]] received 67.1% of the vote (2,589 cast), ahead of Democrat [[Barbara Buono]] with 32.1% (1,238 votes), and other candidates with 0.9% (33 votes), among the 3,914 ballots cast by the township's 8,963 registered voters (54 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 43.7%.<ref name=2013Elections>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2013-results/2013-general-election-results-governor-essex.pdf |title=Governor - Essex County |date=January 29, 2014 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections |access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref><ref name=2013VoterReg>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2013-results/2013-general-election-ballotscast-essex.pdf |title=Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast - November 5, 2013 - General Election Results - Essex County|date=January 29, 2014 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections |access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> In the [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2009|2009 gubernatorial election]], Republican Chris Christie received 58.3% of the vote (2,699 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat [[Jon Corzine]] with 32.9% (1,524 votes), Independent [[Chris Daggett]] with 7.0% (323 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (45 votes), among the 4,628 ballots cast by the township's 8,644 registered voters, yielding a 53.5% turnout.<ref>[http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2009-governor_results-essex.pdf 2009 Governor: Essex County] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202084614/http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2009-governor_results-essex.pdf |date=February 2, 2015 }}, [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 31, 2009. Accessed November 5, 2012.</ref>